


Brothers in Training

by ParkerCuddles



Series: IronDad Bingo [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bed-Wetting, Crying, Dead Aunt May, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Irondad, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Precious Peter Parker, Sharing a Bed, Sibling Rivalry, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2020-03-02 13:16:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18811660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ParkerCuddles/pseuds/ParkerCuddles
Summary: In which Harley is jealous, Peter is precious, and Tony just wants his kids to get along





	Brothers in Training

**Author's Note:**

> IronDad Bingo #1  
> Trope : Jealousy

Tony and Peter had been working down in the lab when Tony spoke up about the thing he’d been meaning to tell Peter for a few weeks. 

“Hey, kiddo, I need to talk to you about something. And before you get all worried, you’re not in trouble. I just wanted to tell you something; you might even be excited,” the man said, and Peter’s head perked up from where he’d been focusing on his work. 

“What is it?”

“Well you remember me telling you about Harley, right? I met him a few years ago,” Tony waited for Peter to nod in acknowledgment. “Well, he’s coming up here for a few weeks, so I wanted to give you a heads up.” 

“How long is he staying for?” Peter asked, suddenly anxious at the thought of Tony taking more of a liking to Harley. They had known each other longer after all. 

“Don’t go all thinky on me there, kid.” Tony pointed a finger at Peter; he knew the kid well enough to know he was probably going over all the horrible outcomes that had a 0.001% chance of happening. 

Peter smiled shyly. “Sorry,” he said. 

“You know it’s alright kid; I just don’t want you worrying yourself. You know I love you,” the man smiled, going over and placing his hands on Peter’s shoulders. “Now, what are we working on?”

Peter smiled. “Just some more pre-cal. You wanna help?”

“You know I do.”

+

It had officially been summer break for a week when Tony broke the news to Peter. 

“Hey, Pete, guess what we’re doing tomorrow.”

“What?” Peter asked, and Tony smiled. 

“We’re going to pick Harley up!” Tony exclaimed, and Peter grinned excitedly. He’d spent the last few weeks convincing the boy that Harley coming would be great, and that it would be like having a brother the few weeks he stayed with them. Peter had slowly gotten more excited, and by that time, he was just as eager to pick Harley up as Tony was. 

“I’m really excited,” the boy had said. “Do you think we’re gonna be good friends?”

“Of course I do,” Tony had answered. He had every reason to believe they would be. After all, the two were both incredibly smart, and they were close enough in age, with Peter getting nearer to his fifteenth birthday as Harley neared his seventeenth. 

There was no reason to believe anything would go awry. Of course, Tony had no true idea of knowing how the boys would really get along, but being best friends seemed likely. 

Well, he was wrong. 

The next day, as Peter and Tony stood hand in hand at the airport- the boy was too shy for his own good- they waited for the flight Harley would be coming off of. Once Tony caught sight of the boy, his face lit up and he shouted, ”Harley!”

“Hey, Mechanic!” the boy yelled back with a dramatic wave, and Peter made a face. 

“Mechanic?” he asked, and Tony kept his smile as he replied, “Oh yeah, that’s what I called myself way back when I met him; it stuck.” 

As Harley finally made his way to the pair, he dropped his bags and embraced Tony with a smile. Peter pretended it didn’t sting to be left unacknowledged, but of course he’d be more excited to see Tony, Peter thought logically. 

Once the two pulled away, Peter held his own hand out to Harley. “Hi, Harley! It’s so nice to meet you,” the boy said with all the enthusiasm he had, which was quite a bit. 

“You must be Peter,” the older boy said as his much larger hand enveloped Peter’s, and the younger boy swore he saw a grimace as his hand was shaken.

“That’s me! Tony’s told me all about you; I’m really glad you’re here!” 

“Glad to be here,” Harley replied, picking his bags up and looking away from Peter.

“Well, car’s this way, let’s get your bags in and head back to my place. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do!” 

Tony’s eyes shone with happiness as he helped Harley grab his bags and load them into the car, Peter trailing behind the pair. He tried not to feel jealous as the older boy immediately hopped into the front seat with Tony without even looking in Peter’s direction, and he tried even harder not to feel jealous when he also knew the lyrics to the song Tony turned on. 

I’m being unreasonable, Peter thought. I live with him, I don’t need to sit in the front seat, or know the lyrics to the songs he listens to.

Still, the young boy could feel the envy creeping up on him, but he shoved it away and put on a smile, one he hoped Harley would return. 

He didn’t. 

+

It didn’t take Peter long to realize that Harley maybe-sorta-kinda didn’t like him. 

The southern boy had only been there for a day and a half, and yet he’d only spoken to Peter when he was prompted to by Tony and he’d taken every opportunity to roll his eyes once the man had looked away. Peter tried not to let it bother him, Harley didn’t know him was all, he’d told himself. That didn’t mean it hurt any less when Harley pushed past him when Tony wasn’t looking, or when he gave Peter’s projects a look of disgust. 

As bad as it made Peter feel, he was still glad things weren’t totally horrible. Yeah, he and Harley didn’t get along, which was disappointing, but he was no Flash. But when Harley pulled him aside as he was walking out of the bathroom his third day there, he realized that maybe he’d been wrong. Because yeah, he didn’t go after him the way Flash did, but he lived with him, for a few weeks at least. 

“Hey, Peter!” he’d said as the younger boy walked out of the bathroom, looking up to meet Harley’s eyes. When he saw nothing but malice, he looked down. 

“Look at me when I’m talking to you.” 

Peter looked back up to the older boy, feeling more intimidated by the minute. 

“What is it with you?” Harley’d asked, and Peter gave him a look of confusion. 

“W- What do you mean?” he’d asked, and Harley scoffed. 

“I mean, you never leave us alone. Jesus Christ, I bet Tony’s tired of you breathing down his neck. I’ve only been here three days and I’m already tired of it.” 

Peter was taken aback. Had Harley really said those things to him, in his own house? And was he really that irritating; did Tony really get tired of him the way Harley said he did?

“I-I’m not trying to be in the way. I-I always go in the lab with Tony; we work together,” Peter stuttered out, trying to make it clear he didn’t mean any harm. 

“W-W-Well leave us alone,” Harley replied, mocking Peter’s stutter and making him feel even worse than he already did. 

“Oh, and now you’re gonna cry? Seriously? You’re fourteen, not four. You shouldn’t need Tony holding your hand and you certainly shouldn’t need him to wipe your tears. Clean it up and leave us alone.”

With one last eye roll, Harley was off, leaving Peter to stand, stunned, in the hallway. 

After that encounter, Peter made sure to leave Tony and Harley alone. If the two were in the lab, he stayed in his room, and if the two weren’t in the lab, then he took himself down there to work, alone. As he worked by himself, he realized he couldn’t fathom how Tony ever worked alone, as he was beyond lonely. But if he had to be lonely for a few days to get away from Harley’s eye rolls and glares, then so be it. 

Peter thought he was being pretty sneaky about avoiding the two. When they came up for lunch, Peter pretended like Ned was calling, and when they walked in on him in the lab, he pretended as though he was hungry. And then Ned was calling. Or he was tired. The list went on and on, anything to escape Harley’s hatefulness. 

Tony, however, definitely realized something was up. He wasn’t stupid by any means; so when Peter ducked out of the lab for the fourth time in two days, he knew something was going on. 

“Hey, Pete, c’mere. I wanna talk to you,” the man called as he walked into Peter’s room. Always eager to please, the boy spun around in his chair to face the man, eyes wide as if he were asking, ‘what’s up?’

“What do you need?” Peter asked, a nervous edge to his voice. 

“Well,” Tony began. “I noticed you’ve been avoiding Harley and me.”

“N-No I haven’t,” Peter responded, eyes widening. How was he supposed to get around this?

“I think you have, kiddo, and that’s okay, I understand it may be weird to have someone else here. I just wanted to make sure everything’s alright with you two, getting along and everything, right?” 

Peter felt guilt creep up on him. If he said no, he would be letting Tony down by making it known Harley wasn’t as great as he thought he was? Right. But if he said yes, that would be a lie, and Peter knew how much Tony hated when he lied. 

He settled for the lie. 

“Yeah, everything’s good. We’re fine; we just don’t know each other that well.” 

He watched the gears turn in Tony’s head, the way his eyes flickered as he went over what he’d had said, trying to decide if it was the genuine truth or a lie to satiate him. 

“Well if you’re sure,” the man had said. Peter breathed out a sigh of relief. “I’m sure he’d like to get to know you better; you two should do something before he leaves.”

Not a chance, Peter thought. Still, he nodded his head and turned back to his desk, Tony kissing the top of his head before exiting the room, leaving Peter to come down from the anxiety high he’d experienced during the conversation. 

A few moments later, when the door opened again, he least expected the intruder to be Harley. 

“Can’t you just leave us alone?”

Peter whipped around to face the older boy, confusion evident on his face. 

“What do you mean? I have left you alone. I live here and you’ve barely even seen me; can’t you leave me alone?” 

Peter couldn’t believe he’d said that. 

“Oh wow, see you’ve finally grown some balls there,” Harley exclaimed. “Nice to know you’ve got at least one bone in your body.” 

Peter sighed. “Can you just go?”

“No, actually, I can’t.” Harley crossed his arms. “But you can.”

Peter’s eyes shone with even more confusion. 

“Come on, there’s plenty of other floors you could be on, not to mention all the other people you could be bothering. Why don’t you just do us all a favor and leave, for a little while at least. It’s the least you could do.” 

This time, Peter’s eyes shone with hurt. Surely he couldn’t be that bad, right? 

Not having anything to say, he spun his chair back around to face the wall. When Harley realized he’d gotten his point across, he walked out of the room, mumbling a quick, “Something to think about,” before closing the door behind him. 

+

Peter thought about it. He thought about it for a while, actually, before he decided to text Clint. 

Can I stay with you tonight? he’d sent, and Clint had a replied with ‘Of course’ before he’d even had time to regret it. He hadn’t spent a night away from Tony since May, but maybe getting out of Harley’s hair would be good. The older boy would have time to calm down, and besides, he loved Clint. Getting to shoot arrows was a bonus too, something Tony rarely ever let him do.

As Peter walked into the kitchen to grab a snack, he ran into both Harley and Tony, only one of which was obviously eager to see him. 

“Pete! Why don’t you come to the lab with us?” Tony had proposed, and Peter almost wanted to take him up on the offer. Maybe flaunting Tony in front of Harley would make him let up, put him in his place, but Peter wasn’t that kind of person. So instead, he replied, “Actually, I’m going to stay on Clint’s floor tonight.”

He watched as Tony’s facial expression morphed into one of concern, and Harley’s into a smug one. 

“You sure, kiddo?” he asked, and Peter nodded.

“Yeah, you guys will be able to hang out, and you know how much I love Clint’s arrows.” 

Tony grabbed his arm. “You know you’re not bothering us, kid. But if you really want to go, I won’t stop you. If you need anything, and I mean anything, you know I’ll be here.” 

Again, Peter nodded, because he did know. He knew he wasn’t a bother to Tony, as much as he sometimes felt he was, especially now that Harley was making it his life’s mission to make sure Peter knew it. 

After the little impromptu meeting, Peter packed his bag and headed for the elevator, giving the penthouse a glance as the doors closed. Once he’d arrived on Clint’s floor, he was immediately greeted with an enthusiastic, “Hey, kid! Ready to shoot?” 

It was almost as if that’s all he needed to cheer up, dropping his bag with a toothy grin and following the man to his shooting room. They’d barely exchanged two more words before the two began practicing, Peter practically forgetting about his earlier troubles. 

As the day went on, the two had a great time. They’d shot arrows for a couple hours, had lunch with Natasha and Steve, and were finally settled down on the couch watching a movie. Peter was cuddled up to Clint, courtesy of the sleepiness he was feeling, when the man asked, “You about ready for bed, kid? You don’t usually stay up so late.”

At that, Peter felt a sick feeling in his stomach. “U-Um, can we maybe watch one more movie? Please?” 

“Yeah, sure,” Clint replied. “It’s summer. Who needs a bedtime?”

Peter weakly smiled, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach, and watched as Clint picked another movie. The boy could feel his eyes getting heavy, his muscles relaxing, but every time his eyes slipped closed, he felt his heart start racing. 

What was going on?

As the movies ending neared, all Peter could pay attention to was that he just didn’t feel good. His stomach hurt, his chest hurt, and all he could think was, I want Tony. 

Oh.

He was missing Tony. That’s what it was. He’d almost forgotten about the one night he’d been away from the man at bedtime, the way he’d cried until the man had picked him up from Ned’s house. He thought that had just been a once off. 

Apparently he was wrong. Now that he had finally realized what was wrong, it only put him more on edge. Was he going to be able to sleep? Did he have to sleep on the couch? Or was there an extra bed he’d sleep in? Would Clint mind if Peter slept with him? This was his first time staying on Clint’s floor after all; what if he got up in the middle of the night and needed to use the bathroom and got lost? What if he had an accident? It didn’t happen very often but the boy didn’t want to find out how Clint would react. 

His thoughts were cut short by Clint standing up, and Peter now realized that the credits had begun rolling. 

“Alright, kiddo. Let’s head to bed; Tony would have my head if he knew I let you stay up late.” 

Peter whipped his head in Clint’s direction. “W-We don’t have to go to bed yet. I-I’m not even tired, really.” 

“Kid.” Clint raised his eyebrows. “You were practically falling asleep the whole movie; I think it’s time for bed.” 

“B-But my stomach hurts,” Peter almost whined, tears springing to his eyes. It was true, his stomach was hurting, but he was frustrated too. He was tired, but he also couldn’t stand the thought of sleeping, not away from Tony. 

“Buddy, are you feeling okay?” Clint asked concernedly, watching the child as he tried to hold his tears in. The boy, in turn, nodded his head but kept his arms tightly wound around his stomach, Clint frowning in response. 

“I think you just need to sleep. If your stomach hurts, you might try and go to the bathroom before bed,” the man supplied, though he had a feeling he knew what was really going on. 

When the tears in the boys eyes finally slipped down his cheeks though, Clint knew he was right. 

“N-No, I don’t want to!” he sobbed, arms still wrapped around his stomach, face a mess of tears. 

“Can I ask you a question, Pete?” 

The boy nodded.

“Do you wanna go back to your floor? I think you’d feel a lot better if you could sleep in your own bed, hm? And I bet you’re missing Tony, too,” Clint said, and watched as it became clear that’s what Peter wanted. 

“O-Okay, that sounds good.”

“Yeah? Alright, well let’s get your stuff and head up, okay?” 

Once Peter nodded, Clint helped him off the couch and the two collected his things, then walked into the elevator. 

“I’m sorry,” Peter sniffled. “I didn’t mean to ruin our sleepover.” 

Clint chuckled. “It’s alright, kid; you didn’t ruin anything. I just want you to get a good nights sleep.”

Peter nodded with another sniffle, and the elevator dinged as the doors opened on Tony’s floor. 

Walking into the penthouse, Clint wrapped an arm around Peter’s shoulder, guiding him into the living room where they could hear a movie playing. Once they’d reached the doorway, they saw Tony with his head turned around, obviously waiting on whoever’d come in. 

“Hey, guys, what happened?” Tony asked, getting up off the couch and walking over to the pair, Peter’s breath hitching as he finally saw Tony. 

“Kid got a little anxious,” Clint answered just as Tony engulfed the boy into a hug. “Just needed his dad.” 

Tony frowned. “Alright, well thanks for bringing him back, and looking after him today.”

“Any time.” 

Once Clint was gone, Tony had pulled Peter to sit on his lap on the couch. In his angst, Peter had nearly forgotten Harley was even there. So when he caught the boys eye after he’d been pulled into Tony’s lap, legs thrown over the mans, face buried in his chest, he didn’t even flinch. 

Instead, he just turned his head away, content to rest his eyes and sleep. 

If only it were that easy every day. 

+

Three days later, after endless torture from Harley, things finally came to a head. Peter had been extra emotional that day, all of Harley’s glares and insults hurting more than they usually did. He’d only have to endure it for four more days, but it was getting harder and harder. 

As the day went on, it became harder and harder to keep his emotions in check, scurrying off to the bathroom more than once to relieve some of the pressure behind his eyes and shed a few tears. 

That’s why, around ten o’clock, Peter had hurried off to bed, leaving a confused Tony in his wake. 

“Kid, you know you don’t have to go to bed; it’s summer,” he’d said, and Peter had only nodded along, supplying a short, “I’m just tired tonight.” 

The man had frowned, but still invited Peter in for his usual goodnight hug, holding the boy a little longer that night. He’d noticed the teariness throughout the day, but chose not to say anything, just chalking it up to missing May. 

Oh, how wrong he was. 

Peter was off to his room and under the covers as soon as Tony had told him goodnight, not even sparing a glance at Harley on his way out. He didn’t need the boy ruining his bedtime either. 

After that, things were relatively calm for the next couple hours. Tony and Harley stayed up watching movies, the two of them adding commentary every so often. The two were on their third movie of the night when F.R.I.D.A.Y. interrupted, her Irish voice ringing through the room. 

“Mister Stark, I would like to inform you that one of your protocols for Mister Parker has been activated. However, I am not sure you would like me to disclose the information in front of Mister Keener. Shall I send the information to your cell phone?” 

Sometimes Tony swore that F.R.I.D.A.Y. cared as much about Peter as he did, the AI seeming almost parental when it came to the boy, as parental as the computer could be. 

“Uh, yeah, sure F.R.I.D.A.Y. . Send it over.” 

As soon as he said that, his phone vibrated with a message from the AI, letting him know that the protocol he’d put in place for Peter’s occasional bedwetting had been activated. The boy didn’t experience it often, but accidents weren’t so uncommon, and Tony felt he needed a plan for when it did happen. So, he got up out of seat, shooting Harley a quick, “Be right back,” before beginning to walk towards the hallway. What he was not expecting was for Harley to quip back with an almost angry, “Seriously?” 

He turned around at that, the kids face softening up a little as he saw the look on Tony’s face. “I need to go check on him. I’ll be back in no more than half an hour. You can finish the movie if you want.” With that, he turned around and made his way towards his kids room, opening the door to peek inside at the still sleeping boy. 

Good, Tony thought. At least it wasn’t a bad nightmare.

With that in mind, he walked quietly over to the bed and squatted down to be level with Peter, placing a gentle hand on his back. 

“Hey, kiddo, wake up for me,” the man whispered, his hand making circles in the boys back. “We gotta get cleaned up.”

It didn’t take long for Peter to stir, the boy opening his eyes with a look of confusion on his face, before shifting and realizing what was wrong. Immediately, his facial expression changed to one of embarrassment, cheeks heating up so red Tony could see them even in the dark. 

“It’s fine, kiddo, we just gotta get cleaned up. Up and at em,” Tony murmured, watching as the boy grimaced as he stood from the bed. “There we go. It’s okay.” 

Once the boy was out of the sticky bed, Tony put a hand on his lower back and led him towards the connected bathroom. As Peter worried his lower lip, Tony told him, “Don’t worry about it kiddo, you know I’m not mad.” 

Starting the bath, Tony kept his back turned as the boy undressed behind him. He waited for the water to get warm enough before he put the stopper in, Peter climbing in not long after. He drew his knees up to his chest and tried to wipe his tears away, but Tony could still see them flowing. 

“Kiddo, don’t cry. You know I’m not upset; it’s no big deal,” Tony tried to console, but the kid only continued to cry, a hiccup escaping his lips. 

“P-lease don’t tell H-Harley,” he hiccuped, and Tony’s eyes shone with confusion. 

“I wouldn’t tell Harley, kiddo, this is your business. But Harley wouldn’t care; he wouldn’t make fun of you.” 

That only upset Peter further, a sob tearing out of him before he could stop it. “Y-Yes he would!”

“Pete, I don’t understand. What are you so upset for?”

He didn’t answer. 

“Did I do something?” 

Peter shook his head. 

“Did Harley?” 

Peter nodded. Finally, after all this time, he was admitting the truth. 

Tony didn’t respond for a moment, just staring as Peter cried, making him feel even more self conscious than he already did. He was a snitch now; he’d hurt Tony. 

“Kiddo, what’s he been doing?”

Yet again, Peter shook his head. Maybe if he didn’t tell Tony, it would all go away. He would forget Peter even said anything and could spend his last few days with Harley in ignorant bliss. 

But Tony was nothing without his ability to coax information, especially out of Peter. So for the next fifteen minutes, Peter finally told Tony the truth, about everything. From Harley’s glares and insults to his shoves and threats, Peter didn’t hold back, and the look on Tony’s face at the end of it made him want to cry all over again. 

“I’m sorry,” he sniffled. 

“No, Peter, I’m sorry. I should have watched you guys more; I never even realized something was up,” Tony replied, now helping the boy get dressed in some new pajamas. 

“It’s not your fault,” Peter murmured, and leaned into Tony for a hug. 

As Tony hugged Peter back, he took comfort in his smell. It was almost as if he’d never outgrown his baby smell, still sweet and so, so young. Planting a kiss on the top of his head, Tony told him, “Don’t worry, kiddo, I’ll fix this.” 

Peter only hummed. 

So after checking in on Harley, who’d fallen asleep on the couch, Tony led Peter back to his suite where he helped the boy settle into what he always called ‘the big bed.’ Tucking the covers around him, Tony planted another kiss to the boys forehead. He couldn’t help it. 

“I love you, kiddo.” 

“I love you too.” 

+

The next morning, as soon as F.R.I.D.A.Y. alerted Tony that Harley had woken up, he told the AI to send the boy an alert that they were going out. Once Harley had told him he was ready, Tony got them into a car and onto the streets, headed to one of his favorite cafes. Peter had been taken down to hang out with Steve and Natasha while Tony was out confronting Harley, and Tony hoped the boy was going to have a better day than he was going to. 

The drive was quiet and tense on Tony’s part, and by the time they’d arrived at the cafe, he was sure Harley sensed the tension as well. They ordered when they sat down, and once they got their coffee, Tony set in on his original mission. 

“So,” he began. “I need to talk to you about something.”

“What is it?” Harley asked, and Tony took a sip of coffee to calm down before answering. It wasn’t whiskey, but it would do. 

“Peter told me,” he paused. “Everything.” 

“W-What do you mean?” Harley visibly paled. For such a smart kid, he was a terrible actor. 

“I think you know what I mean, Harley.” 

Once that was out there, Tony really laid in. 

“Kid, I know you and Peter are different, and I know things aren’t always easy for you. I know that you’re like me in the way we like to hide our emotions. You know, we like to act all tough and hard, man up, or whatever. But Peter’s not like that; he’s sensitive and he’s one of the best damn people I’ve ever met, even after everything he’s been through,” Tony took a sip of his coffee and sighed. 

“It’s not my place to tell you his life story, so I won’t, but trust me when I say that kids been through more than a lot of people I know. He’s one of the strongest people I’ve ever met, and to see him in tears over everything you’ve put him through the last week really got under my skin. I brought you here thinking you’d be like a brother to him, and instead you made him afraid to be in his own home.”

Tony waited for the words to sink in. 

“I’m sorry,” Harley finally said, quietly. 

“Yeah? Well sorry doesn’t cut it.” 

Harley flinched. Tony closed his eyes and held his hands in fists, trying to keep his frustration inside. 

“You don’t owe me an apology. You owe Peter one. What you do owe me, though, is an explanation. I would really like to know why you did all this.”

“I-I guess I was jealous,” the boy admitted. “It was weird coming here and seeing you with him; I-I didn’t want to hurt him. I just wanted your attention.” 

Again, Tony sighed. “You had my attention. I wouldn’t have invited you here if you didn’t. But Peter has my attention too; he always will. I wanted you two to get along, to be like brothers, so that you both had another friend and so that you could co exist under my roof. I had so many plans and this was not one of them.”

“I’m sorry.” 

Tony scrubbed his face with his hands. 

“Tell that to Peter. He’s the most forgiving person I know, so you’ve still got a real shot at being his friend here. But the minute I hear you’ve so much as looked at him the wrong way, it’s straight home. You got me?”

“Yes, sir,” Harley sniffled, and Tony knew he’d gotten through to the boy. 

“Alright then, let’s go home and talk to Peter.”

Harley nodded, the two leaving the cafe and heading back to the tower to hopefully spark a brotherhood. 

+

Upon returning home, Tony retrieved Peter and sat in on the apology session. As Harley explained his side of the story, Peter listened along and eventually reassured him that all was forgiven. 

Of course, everything wasn’t perfect at first, but Tony took it upon himself to extend Harley’s trip by another week, giving the boy more time to redeem himself, and he did. 

As the two weeks blew by, he could see the relationship developing between the boys, the brotherhood forming. It had started small, chatting that eventually turned to banter, movie nights which turned into pillow wars with Tony, and eventually, “sleepover” between the two, which was really just camping out on each other’s bedroom floors. It was as if nothing had ever happened. 

When it was time for Harley to go home, Peter and Tony saw him off, the two boys exchanging a long hug before the older one left to meet his flight. As soon as he was gone, Peter’s phone had lit up with a Snapchat from him, a silly face with an even sillier filter on. Peter had sent one back, and the relationship went on from there. The two were constantly chatting online, be it through social media or FaceTime, and planning their next visits. 

Harley had visited for Peter’s birthday, and again at Christmas, Peter and Tony in turn making their way to Rose Hill for New Years. Tony observed with love as the two grew to be best friends, and eventually, brothers. Peter needed all the support he could get, and Tony was immensely grateful he got it from his other son. 

Things weren’t always great, but with a family like theirs, anything was possible.


End file.
